Sokoban
PuzzleHow to Play
Goal: Push every box onto a marked target to clear the warehouse and unlock the next level.
Controls: Use the arrow keys or WASD on desktop, or the on-screen pad and swipes on mobile. Walk into a box to push it. You can only push one box at a time, and never into a wall or another box.
Rules: If you wedge a box into a corner it cannot leave, use Undo or Restart. There are eight levels that climb in difficulty. Try to finish each in the fewest moves.
About Sokoban
Sokoban, 'warehouse keeper' in Japanese, was created by Hiroyuki Imabayashi in 1981 and published by Thinking Rabbit in 1982. One worker, a cramped warehouse, and crates that can only be pushed, never pulled. From that single restriction grows one of the deepest puzzle systems ever designed, and a favorite test problem for AI researchers to this day.
The push-only rule means Sokoban is a game about irreversibility. A crate shoved into a corner is dead forever, and a careless early push can doom a level twenty moves later. Our eight levels were each validated by a solver before shipping, so every one is honestly beatable, when you are stuck, the way out exists and just hasn't been seen yet.
Sokoban planning habits
- Never push a crate into a corner or against a wall it cannot leave, learn the dead-square zones of each level on sight.
- Work backward from the goal spots: decide the final push for each crate, then arrange the earlier pushes to allow it.
- Mind the order. Crates block crates; usually the deepest goal must be filled first so later crates do not seal the route.
- You can never have too much standing room, keep yourself on the useful side of every crate before committing a push.
- Use undo as a planning tool, not a crutch: rewind to the push that created the problem, not just the last one.
FAQ
How do I know if I have made a level unwinnable?
The classic deadlocks: a crate in a corner, a crate flat against a wall with no goal along that wall, or two crates locked side by side. Spotting deadlocks the moment they form, and undoing immediately, is the core Sokoban skill.
Why can't I pull crates?
Push-only is the entire puzzle. Allowing pulls would make nearly every position reversible and the game almost trivial; forbidding them makes each push a small commitment. That one rule is why Sokoban is studied in computer science as a genuinely hard planning problem.
Are all eight levels here definitely solvable?
Yes. Every level was checked with an automated solver before shipping, so there are no impossible boards. If a level feels stuck, the usual culprit is push order, try filling the most awkward, deepest goal square first.
What are the controls?
Arrow keys or WASD on desktop; on mobile, swipe to move or use the on-screen d-pad. Walk into a crate to push it one square, and use undo and restart freely, real Sokoban players undo constantly and feel no shame.
